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Gryphons
Gryphons are massive half-eagle half-lion hybrids bred by the Goddess Llewa in the beginning of the world's creation. Only members of the Ai'gyr breed and ride gryphons; no other kingdom in the Land has knowledge of gryphon courtship, mating, and egg incubation—because the Goddess taught the Ai'gyrans this trade, this knowledge has been kept secret and is forbidden from being distributed to other kingdoms. Gryphons mate only once per year, during a singular hour which is only known to skilled gryphon breeders. A gryphon must be under a Contract with a rider to mate, and so does their respective partner; rarely will two gryphons mate if their riders are not partners as well. However, some breeders can coax two Contracted gryphons to mate without their riders being partnered; this is a trade secret that very few breeders know. When an egg is laid, both male and female gryphons abandon it, and as a result only eggs that are properly incubated by breeders will hatch. It takes three years for an egg to hatch, and it must be cared for continuously and carefully for it to survive. Because breeding and hatching gryphons is so difficult, very few gryphons have been successfully bred; only around a thousand exist in the Ai'gyr. Three-hundred of these gryphons are Contracted to riders, called Aquilons, while the others are either too old, too young, or unable to be ridden. Those that cannot be tamed are kept as guardians of temples or the homes of rich merchants, tribal leaders, mayors, or members of the Council. Gryphons must be twenty years or older before that can be trained for riding. Only around thirty percent of the gryphons that currently exist in the Ai'gyr are able to be ridden as steeds, and only Aquilons can tame them. An Aquilon is a gryphon-rider who must create a Contract with their respective gryphon; a gryphon only accepts a Contract with a rider if the two share an instant connection upon locking eyes. If a gryphon accepts a rider, it will lower its head and spread its wings wide, indicating for the rider to climb onto its back. Flying for the first time with a gryphon will seal the Contract and make beast and man inseparable. Gryphons are larger than horses and can live up to one hundred years; the oldest in history, Contracted to a Champion of the Ai'gyr, lived to be one-hundred and thirty years old. The average male gryphon is 900-1200lbs, and measures 6 feet tall when standing on all fours (measured at the withers). The average female gryphon is 800-1100lbs, and measures 6.5 feet tall when standing on all fours (measured at the withers). Female gryphons are usually lighter but taller, and are swifter and less likely to tire from long journies. The average wingspan of a gryphon measures around 14 feet, meaning each wing is around 7 feet from base to tip. Female gryphons are known to be more aggressive and violent than male gryphons, and thus female gryphons are rarely ridden. Gryphons come in a wide variety of colors, the most common being brown, golden, black, and grey. There are many varieties of these colors, including chestnut, champagne, and sorrel. Gryphons can have brindled, mottled, spotted or dappled patterns to their feathers. The rarest color of gryphon is white; very few gryphons in history have pure white feathers, making them the most desirable gryphon to breed. Eye color ranges from amber, brown, gold, blue and green. The skeletal and muscular structure of gryphons are relatively unique. Gryphons have very short wing bones and tail bones. They have ten pairs of ribs and an extremely flexible rib cage with a very thick chestplate. They have an elongated skull that gives their head a long, elegant shape, which is an evolutionary trait to make gryphons more streamlined during flight. A gryphon spine is nearly three times as long as a humans. Gryphons are highly muscular creatures, and as such have very thick, powerful muscles that aid them in flight and combat. Gryphons have two small, muscular flaps near the middle of the top of their skulls, which allow their great crests to unfold. These flaps are the second most-flexible of the gryphon's muscles, coming in behind the wing muscles, which give the gryphon enormous thrusting power and endurance for long flights. A gryphon's internal anatomy is vastly different from that of humans and other sentients. Gryphons have four air sacs, which help them stay buoyent while flying; they can be inflated or deflated. A gizzard, located behind the lungs, helps the gryphon pack bone, hair and other undigestible parts of prey into a pellet, which the gryphon expells from its beak. A large crop, located beneath the esophagus, helps the gryphon store food prior to digestion. A gryphon's heart is four-lobed, like that of a human or other of the Races, and is an incredibly powerful muscle. It is around the size of a human skull and weighs nearly twenty pounds. The urophygial gland, which is located at the base of the tail, is filled with an oil which the gryphon transfers to its feathers by rubbing its beak along the opening of the gland. This oil keeps the gryphon's feathers glossy and waterproof and resistent to mites or other insects. The brain of a gryphon is elongated to fit the shape of its skull, and can weigh around fifteen pounds. Gryphons are exceptionally intelligent, although the size of their brain, nearly three times that of a human, does not necessarily indicate higher intelligence.